Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 91

Internet Learning Journal – Volume 4, Issue 1 – Spring 2015
INTRODUCTION
Numerous studies have illustrated that scholarly research has an important role in the
creation of effective and credible textbooks in many fields (Alred, 2006; Bleiklie & Powell,
2005; Griggs, Proctor, & Cook, 2004; Laidlaw, Harden, Robertson, & Hesketh, 2003;
Lewis, 2006; Withrow et al., 2004). Researchers examined business education, knowledge
creation in general, psychology education, marketing, medical education, and criminal
justice respectively, to determine whether textbooks included acknowledgment of published
scholarly research and in some studies, scholarly terminology. Findings indicated scholarly
journal references were limited (Alred, 2006; Griggs & Marek, 2001; Griggs et al., 2004).
For example, after examining a stratified sample of 15 introductory psychology
textbooks published from 1999 to 2002, Griggs, Proctor and Cook (2004) discovered that no
journal articles were cited. According to Griggs et al. (2004), “The texts do not even use
common vocabulary (e.g. Zechmeister & Zeckmeister, 2000), much less cite the same
articles and books” (p. 115). The studies suggested an imbalanced blend of the author’s
voice with text supported by research and little commonality among chapter terminology
and the order of discussion topics.
One way to approach testing whether or not a textbook cites scholarly references and
germane terminology is to track specific well-documented, peer-reviewed scholarly studies.
No studies have been found to have examined journal article reference count and
terminology usage in textbooks related to the infancy of online education. Compelling
scholarly evidence, for example, indicates the best practice of teacher immediacy can lead to
more satisfied online students and higher attendance (Arbuagh, 2001; Rocca, 2004).
Therefore, germane scholarly immediacy terminology is worthy of such a test.
In the early 1970s, Mehrabian, a scholar at the University of California, popularized
the immediacy principle. Regarding the immediacy principle, Mehrabian (2007) said, “The
association of immediacy with liking, preference, and generally good feelings on the one
hand and the association with non-immediacy with dislike, discomfort, and other unpleasant
feelings lead to numerous applications” (p. 109). Teacher immediacy in the online
classroom has been operationalized for this study as non-verbal teacher communications that
foster psychological closeness and acknowledge student feelings in a timely manner (Dupin-
Bryant, 2004; Easton & Katt, 2005; Mehrabian, 1971; 2007).
Researchers have scrutinized the practice of online teacher since its infancy (Brown,
2006; Day, Smith, & Muma, 2006; Lao, 2002; Moskal, Dziuban, Upchurch, Hartman, &
Truman, 2006). Online classrooms in which teacher immediacy is practiced illustrate higher
student retention and a more satisfying student experience (Arbaugh, 2001; Dahl, 2004;
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